I’d like to bring “Blogs and Vlogs” back to once again highlight some of my fave people to check out on the interwebs. Although a full 50% of those highlighted have been women of color, unfortunately none of them have been black. I’d like to correct this omission and reveal two who have had me addicted to their blogs for the last year. BASE – aka Beauty and Style Edit Although this site was built for and caters to women of color, I’ve been enjoying it for months. I’ve particularly enjoyed their recent series in which they ask various women
Author: Kristen Grace
Beauty junkie, food obsessed, and constant wanderer.
Memories from Huntington Beach, California
My trip to Huntington Beach feels like a million years ago. Considering that my hair is long and brown in these pictures, you could say that it was at least two years ago. But quarantine has me thinking of funner times when travel was the *thing* to do and going out where the crowds were was not a nerve wracking experience involving the possible spread of COVID-19 I remember thinking of the absurdity that surfers were out in the middle of December which would be a wish for hypothermia if they did this anywhere in Washington. I was also vastly
Finchberry Soapery – Sweet Dreams
This has got to be the most fancily packaged soap I’ve ever had in my vicinity. Suffice to say, this was gifted to me and what a wonderful little gift it was! Doesn’t the package scream “CUTE”? I held on to this longer than necessary because sometimes just looking at it gave me a happy little thrill. Talk about being a sucker for packaging! When you pull the soap out of the ridiculously adorable packaging, you find a sophisticated bar of soap that is mostly classy but is just girlish enough to add glitter on the top. YES, GLITTER. Granted,
Now You Too Can Join the Sweat Fest!
If you’ve been reading for awhile, you might remember my adventures in Barre or Strength and Sculpt. Despite the incessant whining I did about sore muscles, the classes were awesome, and something I continue to try to do. Since lockdown began, these classes were cancelled. The good news is, my instructor Colleen Freese has started a YouTube channel and now not only does kick ass workout videos, but will do livestreams of her classes. The best part? It’s all for FREE. Check her classes at Colleen Freese Fitness on YouTube!
An Open Letter to New Orleans, Louisiana
Dear New Orleans, It’s been two years since I’ve been to visit you, and I want to go back so badly it hurts. I want to walk down Bourbon Street, step into a night club, and maybe eat some beignets. Oh, and definitely get some fried chicken because for some reason, it tastes like magic in your city. Unfortunately, Mardi Gras, spring break and COVID-19 have taken it’s toll on your city and it breaks my heart to pieces. Your city isn’t made for social distancing. It’s made for get togethers, jazz shows in small venues… and beignets. Let’s not
The Return of the Nail Fail
I had a brilliant idea. I was going to do nail art that wasn’t based on anything. I would just gather up a mess of nail polishes and paint whatever came to mind. Freeform design, colors, and the knowledge that you can’t screw up a picture that was never meant to be a picture. Except you can. When you combine strange shapes, polka dots, and a glitter nail tip you get… A Toxic Toadstool! Doesn’t it look stupidly unappetizing? This is far worse than I ever could’ve imagined! Or as someone else kindly pointed out… It sort of looks like
Five Favorite Things – March 2020 (Super Late Edition!)
Essential Workers – Anybody who is going out to fulfill much needed job roles during this time get ALL of my love. Doctors, nurses, custodians, childcare workers, grocery clerks, gas station attendants and everyone in-between, I love you. Toilet Paper – After enduring several weeks of wondering if toilet paper would be in stock when I needed it again, I have grown to appreciate this commodity much, much more. God bless the almighty TP. Baking Supplies – Having a stockpile of flour, sugar, baking soda and the like has been a gift for the fiancé and I, especially when it
Self Portrait #5: Quarantine and the Insidious Creep of Depression
When the “Stay Home, Stay Healthy” mandate hit Washington, I was bummed. Not least of which was because that meant not being able to see the kiddos at my job. But there was a part of me that really believed I was *made* for quarantine. I’m a consummate introvert. People exhaust me. Working in my pajamas is something that appeals to me. Intersperse this with occasional episodes of I Love Lucy and Law and Order:SVU and you’ve got my personal version of paradise. It did start well enough. I’d read other’s quarantine experiences and their death spiral through the kitchen
First Responder Childcare and the Fight for Sanitization
I hope everyone reading this is finding themselves in good health. As part of my job duties as an educator, I have been called upon to provide childcare duties to the children of first responders–something that is most definitely needed at this time of crisis. It’s a job I was more than happy to do–until I arrived on site. We were promised a district nurse, who would screen all incoming adults and children for health issues before allowing them access to childcare. We were also promised stringent sanitization protocols that are, well, barely there. Our “nurse” is no nurse, but
Chouquettes (Sugar Puffs)
I think we all, at some point in the middle of being locked in at home, will run out of frozen dinner and start to actually cook. Or in my case, BAKE. I love to bake. The end result is most likely yummy and full of sugar, two elements that I love to have incorporated into my food. You can see why chouquettes sounded good. They’re sugar puffs. That must mean yummy. Sugar + yummy makes me happy. My chouquettes turned out… a little deflated. Let’s just say that they did NOT look like what I saw on Chocolate and